WASHINGTON, USA – An elite group of North Korean hackers has been identified as the source of a wave of cyberattacks on global banks that has netted "hundreds of millions" of dollars, security researchers said Wednesday, October 3. A report by the cybersecurity firm FireEye said the newly identified group dubbed ........»»

Microsoft has uncovered new hacking attempts by Russia targeting US political groups ahead of the midterm elections. The company said Tuesday that a group tied to the Russian government created fake websites that appeared to spoof two American conservative organizations: the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute. Three other fake sites were designed to look as if they belonged to the US Senate. Microsoft didn't offer any further description of the fake sites, and the Russian officials dismissed its claims as unfounded. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cited the lack of detail on the hack, and said it wasn't clear "who the hackers in question are" and how t...Keep on reading: Microsoft uncovers more Russian attacks ahead of US midterms.....»»

LONDON, United Kingdom --- What could be less threatening than the old office fax machine? Nothing. That's precisely why it's used as a backdoor for hackers to get into an organization's network. Check Point, a cybersecurity firm in Israel, said Sunday that their research discovered security flaws in tens of millions of fax machines. The hack works by sending an image file through the phone line --- or a file that the fax machine thinks is an image file --- and that is coded to contain malicious software. When a company receives the photo, the image is decoded and uploaded into the fax-printer's memory, allowing the hackers to take over the device and spreading the malicious co...Keep on reading: Beware the fax machine: some hackers target old gadgets.....»»

PARIS, France – Researchers at Israeli cybersecurity firm CheckPoint said on Wednesday, August 8, they had found a flaw in WhatsApp that could allow hackers to modify and send fake messages in the popular social messaging app. CheckPoint said the vulnerability gives a hacker a possibility "to intercept and manipulate messages sent by ........»»

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean hackers are becoming more aggressive than their Chinese counterparts, a leading US cybersecurity firm warned on Tuesday, February 20, as it identified a Pyongyang-linked group as an "advanced persistent threat". It was the first time that FireEye had used the designation for a North Korean-based ........»»

PARIS, France – A new security flaw has been found in Intel hardware which could enable hackers to access corporate laptops remotely, Finnish cybersecurity specialist F-Secure said on Friday, January 12. F-Secure said in a statement that the flaw had nothing to do with the "Spectre" and "Meltdown" vulnerabilities recently ........»»

Top Republicans in Congress expressed their dissatisfaction Wednesday about getting answers from the FBI, as lawmakers trying to investigate Russia's meddling in the US election say they've continued to see no evidence of President Donald Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by his predecessor. The FBI's decision to brief the Senate Judiciary Committee comes after the committee's Chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, threatened to not schedule a vote for Rod Rosenstein to be deputy attorney general unless his panel got the FBI briefing he and the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, requested weeks ago. Grassley &'8212; a stalwart Republican with a powerful post &'8212; expressed his exasperation the FBI hours before a private meeting at the Capitol with Comey. He called the scheduled meeting a &'8220;positive step,&'8221; but also added: &'8220;I don't want to say that's enough at this point.&'8221; Grassley said he was frustrated that officials haven't been as forthcoming as lawmakers would like, and said his committee hasn't been given the respect it deserves for its oversight of the executive branch. &'8220;That's very irritating,&'8221; Grassley told CNN. He wasn't the only Republican venting his displeasure: Sen. Lindsay Graham, who sits on a subcommittee that's seeking FBI answers, said earlier that he would subpoena the agency for information if it wasn't provided to him and fellow subcommittee member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. &'8220;We wrote a letter &'' Sen. Whitehouse and myself &'' wanting to know if there's evidence of a warrant issued by the Trump campaign,&'8221; the South Carolina Republican told CNN's Chris Cuomo on &'8220;New Day. &'8220;He hasn't answered that letter or confirmed if there's a real investigation of the Trump campaign.&'8221; &'8220;He needs to answer the letter and give the nation some information about what's going on here,&'8221; Graham said. Whitehouse and Graham said later Wednesday they had received a letter from the FBI saying they would respond to their questions next week in a classified letter. It was also announced Wednesday that Comey will testify at the House Intelligence Committee on March 20 hearing and there will be a second hearing in the committee March 28, the committee's chairman said. In a Fox interview with Tucker Carlson Wednesday, the President defended his decision to tweet about wiretapping before producing evidence by hinting &'8212; again without evidence &'8212; that more information will emerge in the weeks to come, presumably proving his point. &'8220;Wiretap covers a lot of different things,&'8221; Trump said. &'8220;I think you're going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks.&'8221; House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said he does not believe Trump's claim that Obama wiretapped him, but said it's possible Trump communications may have been gathered in &'8220;incidental&'8221; intelligence collection. &'8220;I don't believe Trump Tower was tapped,&'8221; Nunes told reporters Wednesday. &'8220;We don't have any evidence that that took place and, in fact, I don't believe &'8212; just in the last week of time, the people we've talked to &'8212; I don't think there was an actual tap of Trump Tower,&'8221; Nunes said at a news conference in reference to the claim originally made by Trump several weeks ago. Nunes and Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said they want to see any evidence of wiretapping by their March 20 hearing or they may also issue a subpoena for the records. Asked if he had seen any evidence that Trump aides spoke with Russian officials other than Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak, Nunes said, &'8220;Not that I'm aware of.&'8221; But Schiff added: &'8220;I wouldn't answer that question as categorically as my colleague. We're not privileged to talk about the contents of the investigation but, you know, I think we need to be very precise when we talk about this. And I just don't think that we can answer it categorically in this forum.&'8221; Nunes and Schiff also sent a letter to the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency demanding information on the leaks regarding Russia's contact with Trump advisers by Friday. The two leaders of the House investigation said their work has been stalled so far by trouble accessing computers used by the director of national intelligence &'8212; Schiff said he has been taking handwritten notes when he views evidence. The two have not yet interviewed former national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn and declined to say whether he would appear at a public hearing. Schiff added that he is very concerned about Trump adviser Roger Stone's admission that he communicated with &'8220;Guccifer 2.0&'8221; &'8212; who was later determined by intelligence agencies to be a Russian hacker or group of hackers. Stone has described his contact with Guccifer as limited to a &'8220;brief exchange with him on Twitter&'8221; and any suggestion otherwise, he told CNN, is &'8220;a fabrication.&'8221; The White House has vacillated on Trump's claims in the last two days. Press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump did not mean literally that Obama personally wiretapped him. But on Tuesday, Spicer said Trump was &'8220;extremely confident&'8221; he would be vindicated by the evidence. &'8220;I think there's significant reporting about surveillance techniques that existed throughout the 2016 election,&'8221; Spicer said, without providing any examples. &'8220;He feels very confident that what will ultimately come of this will vindicate him,&'8221; Spicer said. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Wednesday he never gave Trump any reason to believe the GOP candidate [&'].....»»

President-elect Donald Trump said for the first time Wednesday he believes Russia was responsible for hacking ahead of the election but contemptuously rejected allegations that Moscow mounted a campaign to compromise him. In his first news conference since winning the election, a combative Trump made clear he will not mute his style when he is inaugurated in nine days. He lashed out at media and political foes alike in a bravura performance. The Trump Tower press conference confirmed the President-elect's deep desire to quickly assert power once he's sworn in. He insisted on moving speedily &'8212; too speedily for some Republicans in Congress &'8212; to replace Obamacare. He also pledged swift action on building a wall along the border with Mexico and nominating a new Supreme Court justice. But it's also clear Trump will take office amid persistent questions about his relationship with Russia. While Trump was at the podium, his nominee to become secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, faced tough questions on Capitol Hill about whether the incoming administration will view Russia with sufficient skepticism. At the news conference, Trump finally conceded he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin's intelligence agencies were behind hacks on Democratic computers ahead of the election but argued that wouldn't happen again. &'8220;I think it was Russia,&'8221; Trump said. Putin &'8220;should not be doing it. He won't be doing it. Russia will have much greater respect for our country when I am leading it than when other people have led it.&'8221; Trump, who has vowed to improve relations with Russia despite some Republican opposition, said he did not know if he would get along with Putin and noted it's possible he won't. But he could not resist a swipe at his defeated Democratic election rival, Hillary Clinton. &'8220;Do you honestly believe Hillary would be tougher on Putin than me?&'8221; he asked. He added that Russia is not the only nation that hacks US targets and accused Democrats of not having sufficient cybersecurity programs. The news conference opened with the incoming White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, slamming a &'8220;political witch hunt&'8221; following reports that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Trump. Vice President-elect Mike Pence also criticized the media before introducing Trump, who kept up his criticism of US intelligence. &'8220;I must say that I want to thank a lot of the news organizations here today because they looked at that nonsense that was released by maybe the intelligence agencies,&'8221; Trump said. He said any such move by the agencies would be a &'8220;tremendous blot on their record.&'8221; &'8220;A thing like that should never have been written, it should never have been had and it certainly should have never been released,&'8221; Trump said. The news conference follows exclusive reporting by CNN on Tuesday that classified documents presented last week to President Barack Obama and Trump included the allegations about Russia. The allegations were presented in a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and drew in part from memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative, whose past work US intelligence officials consider credible. Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him 01:38 The FBI is investigating the credibility and accuracy of these allegations, which are based primarily on information from Russian sources, but has not confirmed many essential details in the memos about Trump. The news conference, delayed from December, was scheduled for Trump to outline how he will address questions about possible conflicts-of-interest related to his vast business empire. Trump appeared beside a large pile of files he claimed were pertinent to the companies that are going to be placed in a trust to be run by his sons. He reiterated that he doesn't plan to release his tax returns, saying they are under audit and don't include relevant information After taking a handful of questions, Trump turned the event over to Sheri Dillon, an attorney who was on hand to discuss Trump's business interests. She said Trump planned to put in place a structure that will &'8220;completely isolate him from the management of the company.&'8221; &'8220;He further instructed that we build in protections that will assure the American people that the decisions that he makes and the actions he takes as President are for their benefit and not to support his financial interests,&'8221; she said. Trump will place all his financial and business assets in a trust, Dillon said. The Trump Organization, meanwhile, will not enter into any new deals abroad and all domestic deals will be subject to a heavy vetting process. The firm will also appoint a new ethics officer, she said. The President-elect has also terminated a number of deals set to close shortly, a step that had cost him millions of dollars, she said. Dillon argued that the decision had been made not to put all Trump's assets in a blind trust or to divest of all his assets because it would be impractical. She also said that Trump should not be forced to destroy the business that he had built up. &'8220;President Trump can't unknow he owns Trump Tower,&'8221; Dillon said, explaining why a blind trust would not be a workable solution to addressing conflicts of interest issues while he is President. Dillon said Trump would take other actions to avoid the appearance of a conflict over the Emoluments Clause [&'].....»»

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo THE franchise of Iloilo City’s sole power distributor, Panay Electric and Co. (PECO) expired on January 19, 2019. While its rival firm MORE Power and Electric Co. (MORE Power) has already secured franchise from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is still waiting the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte. […] The post Franchise has ‘no teeth’, lawyer says appeared first on The Daily Guardian......»»

MANILA, Philippines – Facebook announced Thursday, January 17, it has removed a total of 471 Russia-linked Facebook pages and accounts, as well as 41 Instagram accounts because of what it deemed "coordinated inauthentic behavior." According to Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy at Facebook, "the two operations we found originated ........»»

MANILA, Philippines – Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday, January 17, warned against letting a Chinese company take over Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines' shipyard in Subic Bay, citing its serious implications on Philippine national security. Trillanes made the statement in a Senate media forum, while responding to questions about a possible ........»»

MANILA, Philippines -- The government is stepping up its fight against online criminals as the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) rolls out its first-ever cybersecurity platform. High on the agenda of the project --- formally known as the Cybersecurity Management System --- is to identify purveyors of misinformation and election-related threats on social media, counter-terrorism surveillance and intercepting online drug traffickers, said Allan Cabanlong, DICT assistant secretary for cybersecurity and enabling technologies. The monitoring of cyberthreats will also be "near real-time" and will cover an initial 10 priority government...Keep on reading: Israeli surveillance firm to build PH cybersecurity platform.....»»

SOCIAL media giant Facebook banned a Philippine digital marketing company for repeatedly violating its misrepresentation and spam policies, the head of its cybersecurity group said on Friday. Facebook.....»»

Cybercriminals will target the booming digital economy next year, a cybersecurity firm warned. In its financial cyberthreats forecast for 2019, Kaspersky Lab said new cybercriminal networks were expected to emerge…READ The post Cybercrime threat growing – Kaspersky appeared first on The Manila Times Online......»»

An anti-virus software company recently published its predictions for possible threats against cybersecurity in 2019. Cybersecurity firm Kasperksy Labs released a list of its predictions, among which is an increase in attacks through the theft of biometric data, attacks against supply chain companies working with financial institutions, the rise of cybercrime groups in Asia and […] The post Cybersecurity firm predicts trends in cybercrime for 2019 appeared first on Interaksyon......»»

MANILA, Philippines -- President Rodrigo Duterte is firm in his stand to abolish the graft-ridden Road Board, his spokesman said Friday, citing the road user's tax has been the milking cow of corrupt politicians. The Senate and the House of Representatives have earlier approved the abolition of the Road Board but the lower chamber later moved to rescind it. READ: Palace: Duterte to sign bill abolishing Road Board Despite the stalemate between the Senate and the House, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President wanted the corrupt-ridden agency abolished. Panelo said he asked the President's position on the issue when they met on Thur...Keep on reading: Duterte’s final position: He wants Road Board abolished, says Palace.....»»

WASHINGTON, DC, USA – The Russian troll farm that disrupted the 2016 US presidential election sought particularly to demoralize African-Americans and deter them from voting, according to a comprehensive new report for the Senate. The primary goal of the St Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) was to deepen divisions in US society ........»»

The Senate is set to conduct an inquiry into the national security and fiscal implications of the P20-billion deal between the Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) and a state-owned Chinese firm to put up a sophisticated surveillance system in Metro Manila and Davao City next year......»»